Issue 43, 2015

Bacterial transport of colloids in liquid crystalline environments

Abstract

We describe the controlled transport and delivery of non-motile eukaryotic cells and polymer microparticles by swimming bacteria suspended in nematic liquid crystals. The bacteria push reversibly attached cargo in a stable, unidirectional path (or along a complex patterned director field) over exceptionally long distances. Numerical simulations and analytical predictions for swimming speeds provide a mechanistic insight into the hydrodynamics of the system. This study lays the foundation for using cargo-carrying bacteria in engineering applications and for understanding interspecies interactions in polymicrobial communities.

Graphical abstract: Bacterial transport of colloids in liquid crystalline environments

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
15 Aug 2015
Accepted
08 Sep 2015
First published
10 Sep 2015

Soft Matter, 2015,11, 8404-8408

Author version available

Bacterial transport of colloids in liquid crystalline environments

R. R. Trivedi, R. Maeda, N. L. Abbott, S. E. Spagnolie and D. B. Weibel, Soft Matter, 2015, 11, 8404 DOI: 10.1039/C5SM02041G

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